TECHNOLOGY

Augmedix gets venture funds

Augmedix, one of several startups developing ways to use Google Glass in health care, said Wednesday it has raised $3.2 million in venture capital funding.

The announcement comes on an especially busy day for the startup's 36 employees, who will begin moving out of the Mission Bay incubator Rock Health and into their own 7,000-square-foot office in San Francisco's Mid-Market neighborhood.

Augmedix's founders, who formed the company as Stanford University students in 2012, said they will use the cash from DCM and Emergence Capital Partners to hire more staff and expand their services. The company's program is designed to allow Google Glass-wearing doctors to cut down on paperwork and spend more time with patients.

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ADVERTISING

Spending on mobile to soar

Research firm eMarketer says it expects worldwide spending on mobile advertising to reach $31.5 billion this year, up 75 percent from 2013.

By the end of this year, eMarketer says, mobile will account for nearly a quarter of total digital ad spending.

It has been growing fast, mainly due to ad revenue growth at Facebook and Google.

In 2013, mobile ad spending more than doubled, to nearly $18 billion from $8.8 billion in 2012. Facebook and Google together saw an increase of $6.9 billion in mobile ad revenue.

EMarketer expects Facebook's share of the mobile ad market to grow to 21.7 percent this year from 17.5 percent in 2013, taking a bite out of Google's share, though Google remains No. 1.

REAL ESTATE

Loan requests drop again

Mortgage applications in the U.S. declined for the fifth time in the past six weeks as fewer Americans bought homes and refinanced their properties.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's index decreased 1.2 percent in the week that ended March 14, the trade group reported Wednesday. The purchase gauge fell 0.9 percent. A measure of refinancing dropped 1.3 percent.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed loan was 4.50 percent last week compared with 4.52 percent the week before. The average rate on a 15-year mortgage was little changed at 3.52 percent compared with 3.53 percent.

The share of applicants seeking to refinance decreased to 56.5 percent, the lowest since April 2010, from 56.7 percent the week earlier.

SOFTWARE

Adobe's online subscribers up

Adobe Systems added online subscribers at a faster-than-projected clip in the fiscal first quarter, as the San Jose company attempts to return to growth by selling Internet subscriptions for applications such as Photoshop.

The software maker added 405,000 customers for its Creative Cloud Web software, bringing the total to 1.84 million and exceeding analysts' estimates. Sales dipped less than 1 percent to $1 billion, and profit excluding certain items declined to 30 cents per share for the period ended Feb. 28, the company said Tuesday. That topped analysts' average estimate of 25 cents per share on sales of $973.1 million.

Adobe is adjusting its business to attract customers who increasingly do their computing online and on mobile devices. Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen is shifting the company away from selling desktop software to Internet sales of applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver.

"Adobe has reinvented itself," said Kirk Adams, an analyst at Wedge Partners Corp. "This is nothing short of phenomenal."

MUSIC

Pandora raises some prices

Pandora Media, the biggest online radio service, raised the price of its advertising-free Pandora One option for some users, citing rising royalty costs.

Listeners who now pay $36 a year for the service will be asked to pay $3.99 a month, Pandora said Wednesday on its blog. For new subscribers, the price will be $4.99 a month, starting in May. Existing users of a $3.99-a-month plan will see no change.

Oakland's Pandora is seeking to defray royalty rates that have risen 53 percent in the past five years and are set to increase again next year, according to its blog. In an interview last month, Chief Executive Officer Brian McAndrews said improvements in advertising sales have made the free service more valuable, in some cases, than a paid subscription.

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